Monthly Archives: December 2013

If you are a Facebook Fan Page Admin you may have noticed a considerable decline in the the organic reach of unpaid Facebook business posts lately. The Social Network is constantly trying to work their algorithm to show the most relevant information to it’s users and it seems that now more than ever before those who have paid are going to the front of the line.

With increased clutter in the newsfeed from more and more brands joining the conversation each day it has become increasingly difficult to rise above the noise. It appears that Sponsored Posts might be the way to get there and it is something that you really need to be looking into more.

In this release on Ad Age Facebook has noted that organic distribution will be a tougher road to conquer and that brands will need to “open their wallets” if they want to improve their share of voice. We think Facebook has been giving it all away for free, which has made us all a bit spoiled in the past. Putting some funds towards your messaging is a wise move and still costs a fraction of what it would cost to market elsewhere. Keep that in mind as you roll into the new year.

We are so happy to be teaming up with ENK Shows as their Social Media Partner. Sircle will be at their Intermezzo Event on January 6-8th hosting their first ever “Social Media Lounge.” This is going to be a great opportunity to interact with their impressive roster of exhibiting fashion brands at this major event. We are joining forces with our partners over at Janine Just Incorporated to help bring an even more comprehensive suite of services to the sessions. Hopefully we can better explain where PR, Social and general Digital Strategies should intersect and collide.

The fashion vertical is one which relies heavily on the visual nature of social networking to grow their following online. Brands are constantly trying to leverage these tools to stand out from the pack, yet very few know how to effectively story tell by platform. We are hoping to shed some light on how to do so, to help them cut through the clutter and reach their desired audience.

We will have a lounge setup near the registration area and will be interfacing with brands directly over the course of the show. If you will be there, be sure to stop by and keep it social!

Facebook’s newly updated algorithm will work to bring more attention to “higher-quality” articles rather than “meme photos.” People are more likely to click high-quality articles and engage with them, so Facebook wants to take advantage of that. The social network will also start promoting relevant news articles just because people enjoy looking at them. The thought process being that if they enjoy looking at them, they will engage with them and then they will hopefully find something else that interests them from the article. Bringing high quality content to its users is mission critical to help maintain the relevancy and popularity of the platform.

Facebook wants to be the place where people go to get up-to-date news, so with this new algorithm, they will hopefully gain more viewers and provide more relevant information. It should be interesting to see how it plays out.

Today Instagram announced an exciting new feature that has been added to the application known as Instagram Direct. This update is now available for iOS download and Android and is still in the works for the Windows phone. At the press event in which the new exciting feature was first introduced, cofounder and CEO Kevin Systrom stated, “Communication is really core. It’s not about photography necessarily. We aren’t built into cameras. We are built into phones, and phones are communication devices.”

Rather than sharing pictures and videos with all followers, Instagram Direct allows users to choose who they would like to view their postings. This gives Instagram a more personalized and private way of communicating with others. Although some might say this is very similar to the social media application Snapchat, Instagram Direct seems to possess more pros. Pictures and videos are supposed to last longer on Instagram Direct, and it appears to be easier for users to have chats about what was sent to one another. With more than 150 million people accessing the social media tool before the update, this feature is certain to take off quickly!

New Website Launch,daniellestevens.com : “Danielle Stevens is an independent, costume jewelry company based in New York. Founded in 2001 by designer Danielle Zackman, the company has emerged as a leading jewelry brand in the US, recognized by its uniquely trend driven and affordable designs.”

Danielle wanted a new website that offered a better user experience to her customers. She also needed a content management system that was easy to use so she could upload press and content on the fly. We created this website on the WordPress Platform and we employed Responsive Design so her fans would have a great experience on any device.

It is hard to believe that December is here and a new year is almost upon us. I have been in a lot of meetings lately and on a number of calls regarding planning for 2014 and the biggest question seems to be: How do we budget for social?

In my opinion there are three categories to consider:

1) Social Media Management: The most important piece is the day to day community management for the brand. This includes design and development of content/assets that users/fans/followers of the brand will want to consume and engage with and strategy on how best to use the various social networks to your advantage. I believe it is very difficult to find a person internally that can do all of this effectively, especially at the price most will want to pay for the role. As a baseline you should consider this to be a full time position and you should allocate a junior level salary to it: $2,500 per month ($30,000) Outsourcing, at least to start, is a great option!

2)Social Media Marketing: This is the actual marketing component of social media and you will need to allocate a budget that is specifically marketing related. If you are looking at Facebook Ads, search marketing or even a blogger outreach program, you need to set aside a real budget to fund these initiatives.
For Facebook Ads we generally recommend a starter test around $500-$1000 per month to get a feel for the platform and to assess what type of CPL you can drive. With SEO it is really hard to put a number on it as it varies by vertical, but I would say that if ecommerce is more than a 5-10% focus for your brand then it is a must have. A blogger outreach program is great for exposure/awareness as well as search relevancy. You need to allocate a budget for prizes, distribution/shipping and actual paid posts (if you are open to it).

3) Social/Digital Strategy: This is how you will bring all of the pieces together. Ideally you have someone with a more senior level understanding of digital strategy on your team. You need to look at this holistically and think about what you really want to accomplish. If you set some goals for your business as you enter 2014, then you need to sit down and make sure your plan and staffing is commensurate with that plan.

From email sequencing, to web development, to expansion initiatives (e-commerce, Wholesale etc.) there is a lot to consider and tie together. You should allocate time and expenses to creating this plan or set of mini plans before you start the year. Once you have the plan(s) set, you can create a calendar for implementation based on your cash flow. You don’t want to not take action on make sense plans, because you fear it is too cost prohibitive. Figure out what you want to see happen, and then put some real numbers behind each piece. Remember the worst action, is inaction!